Next Time I'll Let the Pod People Keep Me
by lccb
Summary: Lieutenant Laura Cadman was on control room duty, but she shouldn't be.


Characters: Mostly Cadman, appearances by McKay and Sheppard  
Rating: PG-13 for language  
Prompt: For the LiveJournal SGA Flashfic Exhaustion challenge, and the Psych 30 challenge - #29, Repression  
Spoilers: Mild for _Duet_  
Disclaimer: Stargate Atlantis and its characters belong to people far more creative and wealthier than I.

Next Time I'll Let the Pod People Keep Me  


Lieutenant Laura Cadman was on control room duty, but she shouldn't be. She must be well into her third (or was it fourth?) consecutive shift by now. Ordinarily, the fact that she couldn't quite pinpoint what shift she was on would bother her, but right now she was too damn tired to care, and the past 24 hours – hell, the past week – were pretty much a blur. She did glance at her watch, though, and clumsily calculated that it had only been a few hours since she returned from M3G-664, after four (five?) days of climbing, crawling and blasting her way through the debris from the earthquake that devastated the Trimorians.

No doubt her COs would bawl her out if they realized she was still on duty. But Major Lorne was still finishing up relief efforts off-world, and Colonel Sheppard, well, she wasn't sure where he was, but she presumed – hoped – that he was somewhere in Atlantis. No one had told her any different, and the idea that in her state she could be the highest-ranking able officer on the premises and therefore the temporary military commander of the city struck Laura as more than a little absurd.

Anyone else with the rank and skills to take the Control Room Officer shift were either off-world or in worse shape than she was. Five marines, including two lieutenants, were in the infirmary, the victims of a building collapse during an aftershock. After Laura accompanied them back through the gate and helped Gomez onto a gurney, she noticed that Lt. Capelli was _still_ on control room duty, and he looked about ready to fall over. A quick investigation revealed just how fucked up the duty roster had gotten. She knew she must have been a sight, covered in dust and dirt and scrapes and bruises, ordering a protesting Capelli to be prepared to be relieved in 20 minutes (he was a 2nd Lieutenant, after all, so she did outrank him). Still, it seemed like the thing to do at the time.

Laura had somehow managed to dodge Carson, grab a quick shower, scarf down a power bar and drain a cup of coffee before sending Capelli shuffling on his way. It took maybe half an hour for the fatigue to really set in. Her head pounded and her shoulders ached. Her knees were bruised and her legs felt like lead. She had to struggle to keep her vision in focus. And _damn,_ who knew that the human body had so _many_ back muscles?

As Laura stood at the military officer's station in the control room – she found it easier to stay awake if she was standing up – she tried to push down thoughts that her latest attempt at playing superwoman was not the best idea. Her hands gripped the back of her chair, with her arms supporting much of her upper body weight, as she stared blankly at the data screen on the console.

_Come on, just a few more hours. You can stay awake and alert for a few more hours. You're a Marine, goddammit._ Hell, she'd been through worse (hadn't she?). Besides, things had gone sort of numb by now. If she stayed on duty, the past few days could stay a blur and she could ignore the highlights of her latest jaunt in the Pegasus galaxy. If she stayed on duty, she wouldn't have to worry about the image of a six-year-old boy crushed in his bed invading her nightmares. She was tough, she was a Marine, she could push aside the fatigue and the pain and _do her duty._

Never mind that it was questionable whether she'd be able to tell a MALP from a Genii nuke should either of them roll through the gate right now.

Dimly she became aware that someone – or something – was trying to get her attention.

"Cadman? – " then a short whistle – "Yoo-hoo? Cadman?"

Laura blinked as her head turned and her eyes focused on one clearly annoyed Rodney McKay. Then again, Rodney was always annoyed about something.

"I'm sorry, Rodney," she responded in a tired, flat voice. "Did you need something?"

"Well, yeesss, that's why I was – " He waved his hand in front her face, causing Laura to blink some more. "What's with you? Are you sure you didn't run into the Pod People on '664?"

Laura rolled her eyes. Apparently, one of the geeks (she was sure it wasn't one of the marines) had thought it necessary to bring along a copy of _Invasion of the Body Snatchers_ (the old 1950's version), and it had been the pick for movie night a few weeks ago. How the hell that movie made it into the rotation was beyond her. As if they didn't already have enough problems with life-sucking vampires – who's to say there weren't real-life body snatchers waiting somewhere out there? Just bringing the _idea_ into the Pegasus galaxy was asking for trouble. On second thought, resting happily in some giant pea pod while some emotionless clone took her place didn't sound half bad right now...

"Cadman!"

She blinked. Damn, did she space out again? Really, Rodney was the last person she wanted to be dealing with right now. She said forcefully, "_What_, McKay?"

Rodney opened his mouth, then closed it, and looked her up and down. "You look terrible."

Laura narrowed her gaze and her voice took on a dangerous tone, "I'm sorry?"

Rodney waved her off. "No, seriously, I'm sure you were having fun blowing up rubble on '664, but when was the last time you slept?"

Laura squinted at him in disbelief. Was Rodney actually expressing _concern_? Maybe _he_ was the Pod Person. "Rodney, I'm _fine_. Major Lorne and the rest of the teams still on '664 will be back in a few hours, one of those officers can relieve me then. Now was there something you needed?"

McKay held his stare as he gave a short "hmph." He tapped a bit on the screen of his laptop – Laura swore he carried that damn thing around like a security blanket – and with one more glance at her, just said, "Uh, you know what? Never mind." She shrugged as she watched him walk away, and after a quick glance around the room, she returned to staring at her console.

Not long after, she was startled by the lazy drawl of her CO behind her. "Lieutenant, what the _hell_ are you still doing on duty?"

_Shit._ Laura snapped to attention as quickly as her tired muscles would allow. _Goddammit, McKay, always sticking your–_ "Colonel, sir, Capelli was well past his third shift and–"

"Aren't you on your _fourth_ shift by now, Lieutenant? Where's Saunders?"

Laura tried to prevent the surprise from showing on her face. Most of the time Sheppard seemed so laid back that it was hard not to buy into his act, but on most days he did in fact know exactly where his officers were, and it shouldn't surprise her that he knew just how many shifts she'd pulled, or who should have been on deck as Control Room Officer.

"He's on '664, sir. He was called out as backup when we took casualties from that building collapse."

Sheppard winced. Yup, the duty roster had gotten royally fucked. Laura waited for the reprimand that had to be coming for not consulting her CO and just deciding to take the shift herself, and then she noticed Sheppard looking her up and down, much in the same way Rodney did, and, like him, his expression turned from one of annoyance to concern. Jeez, did she really look _that_ bad?

Sheppard sighed. "Get outta here, Cadman. You're relieved. Go get some rest."

Laura protested, "But, sir, there's no one to take the shift–"

"_I'll_ take the shift if necessary. Or one of the sergeants can manage it. I'll call up Lorne and get an ETA, maybe he can send some people back early – ones that aren't dead on their feet." He paused as Laura didn't move. "_Dismissed,_ Lieutenant, or do I have to get Beckett to tie you to a bed in the infirmary?"

Laura's eyes went wide and she blushed. She and Carson were just friends, at least for the time being, but ever since "the kiss" back when she was stuck inside McKay's head, they'd been favorite grist for the rumor mill. Sheppard winced again, "I mean–"

Suddenly, Laura found this all very funny and couldn't stifle a rather loud laugh. And then she kept laughing. Sheppard blinked at her and raised his eyebrows.

Laura struggled to contain her laughter before her CO decided she was hysterical and really did send her to the infirmary. She cleared her throat. "Sorry, sir, I'll be going now."

Sheppard's familiar smirk had returned. "See that you do, Cadman. Get some rest. You did a good job out there."

Laura nodded and headed for the stairs. "Will do, sir. Thank you, sir."

As she made her way to her quarters, the momentary surge of energy from her CO's visit and her subsequent giggling fit had subsided, and now Laura could once again feel every tired muscle, every ache and pain. She paused in front of her door and let out a heavy sigh. She figured that she was exhausted enough that her dreams just might be free of earthquake destruction and Pod People. Carson tying her to a bed, on the other hand...

The first real smile in over four days graced Laura Cadman's face as she entered her quarters.


End file.
